Rome [ENA] Drones are appearing in European skies. Drone technology has developed quickly in recent years, and is now in civil use. It is calculated approximately that, in about 10 years, 10 % of the global civil aviation fleet could be unmanned. 150,000 jobs could be generated by the drone industry by 2050 according to the European Commission. Thousands of enterprises, mostly SMEs, in the European Union

already manufacture and use drones in infrastructure safeguarding and monitoring, aerial mapping and many other industries. Nevertheless, the full potential of drones is still not utilized, as they are not yet integrated in operations among manned aircraft in non-segregated airspace, i.e., airspace open to all civil air transport.
The recent civil aviation safety rules come at difficult economic times, when some parts of the aviation system, such as smaller or regional airports and some airlines are striving to make profits or have gone bankrupt. In addition, EU companies face intensifying competition from Middle Eastern and Asian carriers.

Some European aviation authorities also make any effort against scarcities of financial and human resources in dealing with demands from industry for technically thorny certification and oversight work.Unmanned aircraft (drones) are to some extent covered, namely only those with an operating mass over 150 kg. The Basic Regulation does not specify what is meant by 'unmanned aircraft'. State (e.g. military, customs, police and firefighting), home-built or historic aircraft and small aerodromes are exempt from common rules.At present, drones lighter than 150kg, which is in fact most of them, fall under the jurisdiction of national authorities and therefore EU manufacturers and operators are subject to different design and safety requirements.

The design and manufacture of drones have to agree with EU basic requirements on safety, security and personal data protection. More specific requirements must be defined, for instance, on what kind of drones should be equipped with features such as altitude limits, maximum operating distance, collision avoidance, flight stabilisation and automated landing.
EU countries will need to ensure that operators of drones that can cause significant harm to people, i.e. by crashing into them, or present risks to privacy, security or the environment, are registered. These drones will also need to be individually marked to be uncomplicatedly identified.

Definitely, the aim is to provide a uniform level of safety across the EU and greater clarity to drone manufacturers and operators to help in improving the sector.
Member states and the Commission will also boost cooperation in aviation security matters, including cyber-security.
Drones to be covered by EU safety rules are those that in the case of impact against a person, can transfer energy above 80 joules.